DOJ Asks SCOTUS To Decide If Census Citizenship Question Is Constitutional

[Igel]

2. It's not a constitutional question.

Strictly speaking, asking for a person's race on the census is "not Constitutional," and there's no authority in the section specifying numeration for taking a census of places like Puerto Rico.

You ask if a person is free (or bound for a term of years) or not free, or in the case of "Indians" if they're taxed or not. If free, then each person counts; if not free, well, that provision's been rendered moot; and if Indian and untaxed, they don't get counted.

Limit the census to just the constitutional provisions and there'd be screaming in the halls of power in DC and lobbyists (both official and unofficial).